Golf-ball.



T. BENDELOW.

GOLF BALL.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14, 1917.

L6 5,@ 6 .1. Patented May 7', 1918.

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TOM BENDELOW, 01F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 THOMAS E. WILSON & COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

GOLF-BALL.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented May Y, llll l a llfififidldli.

' Application filed July 14, 1917. Serial No. 180,525.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TOM BENDELOW, formerly a subject of the King of England, but having filed my first papers for citizenship of the United States, residing at Chicage, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Golf-Balls, of which the following is a specification.

Ihis invention relates to golf balls, and has for its object the production of a golf ball that will be very resilient and at the same time when struck by the golf club will be deformed in such a manner as to insure the least injury to the ball and the greatest accuracy in the direction of its movement. IVhen the interior of a golf ball is composed of highly elastic substances, such as soft rubber, the crust of the ball is subject to great strain when struck and is liable to be injured by cracking, chipping, or indenting; and also the deformations produced in thecrust when struck, with certain forms of surface markings, are such as to cause the ball, on the rebound, to be forced away from the face of the club at an angle slightly unlike that which would be produced by a smooth surface, so that the direction of the movement of the ball is aflected in an uncertain manner. To overcome these disadvantages I combine with the elastic interior a surface marking which fully serves the ordinary purposes of surface markings and at the same time insures regular and definite deformation of the crust in such a manner as to materially reduce injury to the crust and to materially increase the accuracy of the flight as well as the speed of the flight, and the accuracy of the rolling movement on the putting green.

@f the accompanying drawings Figure l is a perspective of a golf ball showing the surface markings of my invention. Fig. 2 is another perspective view of the ball. Fig. 3 is a cross section of the ball showing the interior construction; and Fig. l is a perspective of a ball with the crust removed.

As shown by Fig. l, the surface markings of the ball comprise grooves 5 in the surface of the ball, the grooves being of. a material depth somewhat comparable with the width of the grooves, and the width being materially less than the distance between the grooves. The grooves are arranged in three sets of substantially parallel circles, the circles of one set being substantially at right angles to those of each of the other sets, as indicated in the drawings; grooves 6 being in one set and grooves 7, and 8, respectively, being in the other sets.

The ball is composed of a materially yielding resilient interior 9 and a slightly yielding but resilient crust 10. The interior may be constructed in any suitable manner. I prefer for the purpose strips or hands 12 of rubber wound so as to form a substantially spherical ball. The exterior layer may be composed of any suitable substance and applied in any suitable manner. I prefer for the purpose gutta percha applied in an ordinary manner, the markings being formed by molding or in any other suitable manner.

It is evident that, with a ball having a highly yielding interior, the outer crust, though composed of harder and but slightly yielding material, will be very materially deformed by a severe blow. As a consequence with each stroke there will be a severe bending of certain portions of the crust, and the bends will occur along the lines of least resistance, which in this in stance will be along the grooves and, hence, always symmetrically with reference to the surface. pressions which are not symmetrical or continuous, such as the pimple or the dimple markings, with a yielding interior the bends tend to follow the depressions and pass irregularly from one depression to the adjacent ones depending upon the exact point of initial contact of the surfaces of the ball and club. Not onlyare the thickest portions of the crust forced to bend, reducing materially the yielding tendency of the crust; but the length and the direction of the bends vary with the initial point of corn tact of the two surfaces, and, hence, the

speed and direction of the ball also vary. And this is increased by the use of the ball as each bend reduces the resistance at that point, and gradually weak portions are developed.

It is to be understood that I do not claim the surface markings alone, as such markings are old. But I do claim the use of such markings on a ball having a materially yielding interior; and the interior may be With a ball having surface de- Ill 'lti

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- I' claim as my invention:

A golf ball comprising a surface markings thereon,

rior, comprislng hard crust with a yielding intethe surface markings on said .crust three sets of grooves encircling the periphery of the ball, the grooves in each of said sets being substantially par- 1 allel with each other, but being substantially at right angles with each of the other sets.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my hand.

TOM BENDELOW. 

